Located in Ginza, Tokyo, and designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa, this 1972 project realizes the ideas of metabolism, exchangeability, and recycleability as the prototype of sustainable architecture.

When the residential area in Tokyo started to shift to the suburbs, this building was intended to be one tactical move to restore housing units to the central part of the city.

The individual units were mass-produced and fastened in the desired arrangement to the central core by high-tension bolts. Each room provides various facilities found in a single hotel room.

The design anticipates change and growth. By replacement or removal of the capsules, the appearance of the architecture changes over time, containing the potential for participation by the resident in determining its form. This building symbolizes individual human existence in the urban landscape. The concept also expresses the aesthetic of Metabolism, the aesthetic of transience.

This project has been short-listed for the World Heritage by the International Committee of Docomomo International since 1996.

Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates, established in 1962 by Kisho Kurokawa, has provided numerous number of architectural design works representing the respective time. Upon the decease of Kisho Kurokawa in 2007, his son Mikio decided to carry on his will and to succeed his position representing the firm.www.kisho.co.jp